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Verizon reveals 5G and Go90 news at CTIA 2015

By: Lauren Tilstra

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Video of Marni Walden CTIA 2015 Keynote

The 2015 Wireless Association Super Mobility Conference is a wrap.

Last week, tech-savvy giants and entrepreneurs convened in Las Vegas to challenge the wireless industry status quo and share insights on the future of mobility. From 5G and mobile-first video content to the internet of things and cyber security, 2015 CTIA captured not only the pulse of wireless today, but the fortitude by which longstanding industry leaders and tech newcomers will tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

During the four-day event, several Verizon leaders seeded note-worthy announcements and fueled innovative conversations around how Verizon will deliver the promise of the digital world. Here’s what you need to know:

5G is coming…and soon.In a pre-interview, Verizon’s Chief Information Officer, Roger Gurnani, told CNET that we’ll start testing new 5G, or fifth-generation, wireless technology within the next year, and could be the first wireless carrier to launch a 5G network within two years.

Following this announcement, Gurnani joined Mark McDiarmid of T-Mobile, Tom Keathley of AT&T and Tom Sawanobori of CTIA for a CTO Roundtable to discuss Future Mobility Networks and the US’s leadership in advancing 4G to 5G. As pioneers in the road to 4G, Gurnani spotlighted Verizon’s leadership position in bringing 5G to market and challenged the audience and his peers to be proactive and operate with a sense of urgency to prepare for the next generational shift in the innovation ecosystem.

With real no definition of 5G and a lot of industry leaders striving to set the industry standard, one thing is certain- the promise of 5G is exciting and will deliver massive improvements in throughput, at an exponentially lower cost per bit and scalability to support the Internet of Everything.

With 1 in 3 Americans watching videos on their smart phone, and another 100 million on tablets, the trio focused in on the entertainment industry’s clear infection point- and the role wireless leaders and advertisers will play in the transformation of content delivery and consumption.

With a scalable-model in place with the launch of Go90, Verizon’s social entertainment platform for the mobile generation, the partners talked premium access and quality, exceeding the expectation of customers, staying in-sync with millennial and Gen Z audiences and finding ways to monetize the digital content revolution.

“It starts with having premium content, so we are very focused on what’s relevant to millennials and Gen Z, said Walden. “But it’s also about creating a social experience because we know that this group wants to watch and also share. So it’s about consumption plus conversation, it’s about being able to cut and share clips both inside the application and outside with all of the social media. It’s about joining crews and following people that are like you or things that they’re doing and being able to share with friends and fans...and it’s also about crowed sourcing and getting recommendations from the community. And we couldn’t do it without the partners that you saw on the stage today but also the NFL, NCAA, AwesomenessTV, Huff Post Live, Univision, Scripps and many many more that you’ll see inside the product.”

Closing out the session, Walden shared Verizon’s private invitation of 5 million of their customers to trial Go90, with plans to eventually launch the service to all customers, regardless of their carrier.

“We think that this is a very exciting time…we’re skating to where the puck is going, not to where it is today.”

About the author(s):

Lauren Tilstra is a member of the executive communications team and provides counsel to Verizon’s senior executives.